I mean besides the comparable level of respect the public has for workers in both industries? Both the porn and the newspaper biz are experiencing hard times for similar reasons—and the recession isn’t to blame.
They’re suffering because of the F word: free. There’s so much free content online that consumers are finding that they don’t need to pay for either adult DVDs or news about their local school board. Why pay for what you can get for free delivering right to your computer in seconds?
The LA Times reports on the downturn in the porn industry, in which adult film stars are making one-third or what they earned two or three years ago, and film distribution company revenues are down 30 to 50 percent.
Perhaps newspaper publishers and porn producers should pick up a copy of Chris Anderson’s new book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, which suggests that most if not all content will be free—and that businesses had better get with the program if they hope to avoid going the way of the blacksmith.